Li Qing was looking over a file.
It was a summary of the Secretariat Office incident.
It seemed that Official Li of the Secretariat Office had been investigating a case involving a smuggling operation.
A powerful figure in the Capital City stood behind it, and there had been many twists and turns.
The day before the case came to light, they seemed to have uncovered something.
But that very night, his entire family was wiped out, and the case ultimately went nowhere.
The file only made the veiled guess that it was most likely connected to a powerful figure in the Capital City.
Someone didn't want him alive.
Just then, Li Qing's expression suddenly changed.
Strange information appeared on the Jade Tablet.
Secretariat Office Massacre Case...
Mass Grave Case in the South of the City...
<Blood Demon Sect Purge Case in the South of the City>...
Canal Transport Smuggling Case...
Blood Demon Sect Conspiracy(Truth)...
More than a dozen cases appeared all at once. The word "truth" drew all his attention.
He read the contents on the stone tablet carefully, and immediately discovered something chilling.
"The Blood Demon Sect used canal transport to bring rebels and weapons into Jade City."
"This was discovered by Official Li of the Secretariat Office."
"The Blood Demon Sect True Disciple, Young Master Blood Spirit, paid him a visit under the pretext of being a fellow disciple of Official Li's classmate, then secretly killed his entire family."
"After Official Li's death, Prefect Fang Qingyu was put in charge of Cao Yun's affairs."
"After Li Qing resolved the Ghost Cry Incident at the Secretariat Office, he discovered traces of the Blood Demon Sect."
"The upper echelons of Jade City immediately became alert. Commander Wang Jie of the Garrison was tasked with overseeing all canal transport to prevent any trouble."
"The Blood Demon Sect secretly orchestrated the refugee riot in the south of the city to test Jade City's defenses and create an atmosphere of tension."
"During the incident, however, Blood Demon Sect disciples extracted the bloodline essence from the corpses. Li Qing discovered this while they were burying the bodies and reported it."
"Wen Taiquan, an insider in the Blood Demon Sect, secretly informed a Blood Demon Sect True Disciple, then turned the situation to their advantage. They sacrificed three outer disciples to give the second pawn greater authority."
"Commander Wang Jie took complete control of the Refugee Camp, the Water Transport Wharf, and the city gate guards."
"Commander Wang Jie of the Garrison was a secret agent of the Blood Demon Sect. His purpose was to help the sect break through Jade City."
"They were preparing for an invasion by the foreign tribes of the Northern Desert—the Northern Barbarians."
The information ended there.
Li Qing's scalp prickled. He nearly jumped to his feet.
He hadn't expected the Jade Tablet to deduce the truth just from a file he'd been reading.
His expression turned complicated, and he fell into thought.
"The Jade Tablet seems to be something capable of deduction and refinement. As long as it has enough information, it can strip away the surface of anything and reveal the truth beneath."
"What they call refinement may simply be a more reasonable deduction—one that uncovers the truth in the information without any errors."
"Could it be that cultivation originally came without any cost?"
"Was it human deduction, understanding, and comprehension that went wrong, eventually giving rise to these flawed cultivation methods?"
Many thoughts came to mind. "Essence Stones, too, seem to restore essence to its most fundamental state, removing all impurities that aren't part of its nature."
"Perhaps the Jade Tablet's true function is to restore everything to its original essence."
"Refining essence, refining cultivation methods, uncovering the truth—all of it is a return to the essential nature of things."
Li Qing seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of his golden finger.
He took a deep breath, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"What should I do next?"
"If I handle this well, I reckon I could earn enormous merit."
"But if I mishandle it, I could end up as cannon fodder."
"The Commander-in-Chief is a fourth-rank official, on equal footing with the prefect and the commander of the Demon Extermination Hall."
"If I get dragged into this, I might not come out of it well."
His eyes grew solemn at the thought.
"I've already completed the first step of the Humanity's Overview Technique."
"These waters run deep. I have to finish refining this layer first."
Over the past half month, he'd already gathered quite a few things, especially materials made from nine kinds of metal, nine kinds of water, nine kinds of spiritual jade, and nine kinds of fire.
He'd bought all four types from outside with silver.
Now he only lacked four different hundred-year-old spiritual herbs. But these herbs weren't cheap. Each was worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, and he'd need connections to obtain them.
There was no second Wang Kuohai who could help him now.
His brows knitted together, and his right hand began tapping the table of its own accord.
Tap, tap, tap.
Elder Huang saw him frowning and smiled. "Is something troubling you? Tell me about it."
Li Qing took a deep breath and looked at Elder Huang.
"I want to find four different hundred-year-old spiritual herbs. Is there any shortcut?"
Elder Huang furrowed his brows. "A hundred-year-old spiritual herb isn't all that rare, but with your status, it won't be easy to get one."
"On the market, each plant costs at least eight thousand taels of silver."
"Four of them would cost at least thirty-two thousand taels."
"If you can come up with that money, I can help you make some arrangements."
Li Qing took a deep breath, his brows furrowed as he pondered.
After a long pause, he looked at Elder Huang. "I've already found out the truth."
"But this matter involves a lot of people."
"If I reveal it, I'm afraid I won't live much longer."
Elder Huang's expression grew serious. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to ensure my safety, but it's hard for me to trust anyone else."
"Only my own strength can protect me."
"I can report the truth, but in exchange, I want four different hundred-year-old spiritual herbs."
"I want to cultivate a spell that can save my life."
Li Qing looked Elder Huang in the eye and spoke frankly, his expression grave.
Elder Huang looked at Li Qing, tapping his fingers lightly on the tabletop. He took a deep breath and said, "I can bring this up with the people above."
"If they agree, someone will probably come to see you."
"Good!"
Li Qing nodded.
He'd proposed this exchange because the Demon Extermination Hall was a place that followed the rules.
During this time, he'd read at least a hundred different case files and noticed one thing.
The Demon Extermination Hall was very strict about its rules for Demon Extermination Captains.
Even if you died in battle, you'd still receive every bit of the compensation owed to you.
If you failed a mission, you'd still receive every bit of the punishment you deserved.
Everything revolved around two words: rules.
"Demon Extermination Captains aren't ordinary people. Once pushed to the brink, they can resort to Rule-Breaking Alienation."
"Once they break their rules, their power will grow wildly, and they'll eventually become Anomalies."
"As long as they still have an obsession in their hearts, even after becoming an Anomaly, they'll still be able to take revenge."
"So even the Demon Extermination Hall doesn't dare casually withhold their pay or target Demon Extermination Captains with unfair treatment."
"Every Demon Extermination Captain can be called a ticking time bomb."